Satoru Iwata passed away July 12th, 2015 from a Bile Duct Growth, he was 55. I could go over this article about how Satoru made games such as Mother and Kirby or that he was the President of Nintendo for the last 13 years. None of that matters, he was a gamer, he wasn’t a CEO who just liked money like Bobby Kotick, he was one of us.
On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.
-Satoru Iwata
We have said it many times on my podcast that Nintendo, while making stupid decisions at times is the only company that remembered what it was like to be a gamer. Sometimes we look at the power of the PS4 or the odd decisions made with the Xbox One but Nintendo knows how to have fun. Nintendo made Splatoon a game that would not have been a AAA game on any other system than the Wii U. The Mario games are still fun, Legend of Zelda, the list goes on with the games that come from Nintendo. I think part of the reason they know how to have fun was from their President. He was a gamer, he knew that gamers don’t always care about the highest graphics or the most mature content, they want fun.
Here are some quotes from the game industry about his passing:
Larry Hryb: I had the chance to meet Iwata-san at E3 one year, and he was such a gentleman as I fan boyed out. Today the industry lost a huge force.
Phil Spencer: Sad day for Iwata-san’s family, friends, and gamers everywhere. His passion, creativity & leadership elevated our industry.
Zelda Williams: So sorry to hear about Mr. Iwata’s passing. He was an unbelievable mind and talent, a passionate creative force. May he rest in peace.
You can see a bunch more here